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Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on winter rainfall in Calabria (southern Italy)

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Abstract

Seasonal rainfall amounts, directly responsible for availability of water resources on a specified area, are strongly dependent on the climate system. In order to highlight some features of such dependence, generally circulation indexes based on the difference in the sea level pressure between two geographic areas are taken into account. In the present study, the relationships between winter rainfall series observed in the Calabria region (southern Italy) and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) have been analysed. Firstly, a correlation analysis between precipitation and the NAOI was performed. Subsequently, the influence of the different phases of the NAO on the winter precipitation has been detected by a composite analysis, and by identifying changes in the behaviour of the probability density functions (gamma distribution) fitted on monthly rainfall. The results evidence a clear link existing between the phases of the climatic index and the amount of winter rainfall.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the anonymous reviewer for the precious remarks and comments which led to improve the initial version of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Protection, University of Calabria, 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy

    E. Ferrari

  2. National Research Council—Institute for Agricultural and Forest Systems in the Mediterranean (CNR-ISAFOM), 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy

    T. Caloiero

  3. National Research Council—Research Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection (CNR-IRPI), 87036, Rende, Cosenza, Italy

    R. Coscarelli

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  1. E. Ferrari
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  2. T. Caloiero
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  3. R. Coscarelli
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Correspondence to E. Ferrari.

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The authors contributed equally to this work.

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Ferrari, E., Caloiero, T. & Coscarelli, R. Influence of the North Atlantic Oscillation on winter rainfall in Calabria (southern Italy). Theor Appl Climatol 114, 479–494 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-013-0856-6

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